# Unified QR SA

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/unified-qr-sa
> research date 2026-10-19 · extracted at 2026-10-20
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [QR Code Technology — SAMA Rulebook](https://rulebook.sama.gov.sa/en/quick-response-code-technology-qr-code)
- [SAMA introduces QR-based national payment system](https://www.paymentscardsandmobile.com/saudi-arabia-monetary-authority-sama-introduces-qr-based-national-payment-system/)

## Supported wallets

The following wallets support this standard:

- [STC Bank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wallets/stc-pay)

## Overview

**Saudi Arabia's unified QR (Saudi Payments)** is the national, interoperable QR-code payment platform that **Saudi Payments**, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), commissioned from **HPS (Hightech Payment Systems)** in 2020. It lets banks, wallet providers and FinTechs "interact seamlessly within an interoperable platform" <sup>[3][3]</sup>. SAMA's rulebook calls the project "Quick Response Code Technology (QR CODE)" (Arabic «تقنية رمز الاستجابة السريع») <sup>[1][1]</sup>. HPS calls it "a unified QR code platform" and "a national QR code payment system" <sup>[3][3]</sup>. "SAQR" was this corpus's old label for it, not an official name: the SAMA rulebook circular doesn't use it <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

A merchant presents a QR code with a payment request, and the consumer verifies and pays, or rejects it. Codes can be static, for repeated use, or dynamic, for a single transaction <sup>[3][3], [2][2]</sup>. The same code is meant to work regardless of the service provider or scheme <sup>[3][3]</sup>. In a circular of 21 September 2021, SAMA required every entity that had already launched a QR payment service to comply with the project's technical and commercial requirements and to complete technical authorization with Saudi Payments before the end of 2021 <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

## History

**24 February 2019 — standardisation announced.** Opening MEFTECH in Riyadh, the SAMA Governor said SAMA had worked with Saudi Payments "mada" "to standardize smart device payments through the QR code technology", served through "a unified window" for customers of e-wallets from different providers <sup>[4][4]</sup>.

**27 April 2019 — memorandum with 12 entities.** mada signed a memorandum of understanding for a unified QR-code payment system with nine banks and three fintechs; the announcement doesn't name them <sup>[5][5]</sup>.

**27 February 2020 — HPS appointed.** Saudi Payments appointed HPS to provide the unified QR code platform <sup>[3][3]</sup>. Payments Cards & Mobile reported the launch on 9 March 2020 <sup>[2][2]</sup>.

**21 September 2021 — SAMA circular.** The rulebook circular "Quick Response Code Technology (QR CODE)" set the end-2021 deadline for existing QR services to complete technical authorization with Saudi Payments <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

**Vision 2030.** HPS and SAMA place the national QR within the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) of Saudi Vision 2030 <sup>[3][3], [4][4]</sup>.

## Technical specification

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Regulator** | Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) <sup>[1][1]</sup> |
| **Platform owner** | Saudi Payments (SAMA subsidiary) <sup>[3][3]</sup> |
| **Technology partner** | HPS (Hightech Payment Systems) <sup>[3][3]</sup> |
| **Messaging** | HPS describes the platform's payment environment as based on ISO 20022 <sup>[3][3]</sup>. This is a statement about the platform, not about the QR payload. |
| **QR types** | Static (multiple transactions) and dynamic (single transaction) <sup>[3][3]</sup> |
| **Flow** | Merchant presents a payment request; consumer verifies and pays or rejects <sup>[3][3]</sup> |
| **Compliance deadline** | End of 2021, for services launched before the circular <sup>[1][1]</sup> |
| **Participants** | Banks, wallet providers and FinTechs <sup>[3][3]</sup> |

**Payload format: not public.** The SAMA circular directs implementers to Saudi Payments for "the technical authorization process" and gives only a contact address. It doesn't publish or link a payload specification <sup>[1][1]</sup>. No fetched source describes the fields, encoding or checksum, so this page doesn't claim the code follows [EMVCo MPM](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/emvco-mpm) or any other layout.

## Use cases

**Merchant QR payments** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: a static code at the counter, or a dynamic code for each transaction.

**E-wallet interoperability** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: one code payable from e-wallets of different providers.

**Small merchants** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: SAMA's 2019 announcement cited the anticipated spread of the technology among micro and small enterprises and shops.

## Implementations & ecosystem

**Regulator**: SAMA. **Platform**: Saudi Payments, built by HPS. HPS is listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange <sup>[3][3]</sup>.

**Companion systems in Saudi Arabia** <sup>[Saudi Arabia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/SA)</sup>:
- **[Mada](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mada)**, the national card scheme run by Saudi Payments.
- Saudi e-wallets such as **[STC Bank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/stc-pay)** (formerly STC Pay). Its customer app pays by QR code and withdraws cash at ATMs through a QR code, and its merchant app gives each shop a store QR code <sup>[6][6]</sup>. STC Bank lists QR Payments among its business payment options <sup>[7][7]</sup>. No source documents its payload either.

No open-source encoder or decoder exists, since the payload format isn't public.

## Fun facts

- **Cash by QR.** STC Pay's app let customers withdraw cash from an ATM by scanning a QR code <sup>[6][6]</sup>.
- **No brand name.** Unlike many national QR schemes, the official sources give the system no product name. SAMA describes it by its technology, "Quick Response Code Technology (QR CODE)" <sup>[1][1]</sup>, and HPS by its function, "a unified QR code platform" <sup>[3][3]</sup>.

## Comparison

| Feature | Unified QR (SA) | [Mada](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mada) (SA companion) | [Aani](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/aani) (UAE) | [QMP QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/qmp-qr) (QA) | [CliQ QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/cliq-qr) (JO) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standards body | SAMA + Saudi Payments | SAMA + Saudi Payments | Al Etihad Payments (CBUAE) | QCB | JoPACC (public-private) |
| Tech partner | **HPS** | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Messaging | ISO 20022 (platform, per HPS) | Internal | ISO 20022 | n/a | ISO 20022 |
| Type | National unified QR | National card scheme | Instant payment + QR | Mobile-payment switch + QR | Instant payment + QR |
| Year | 2019 (announced) – 2021 (SAMA circular) | 1990 (2015 rebrand) | Oct 2023 | May 2023 | Jun 2020 |

## Status

**In force.** The SAMA rulebook lists the 21 September 2021 circular with "Status: In-Force" <sup>[1][1]</sup>. Whether every provider met the end-2021 deadline is not confirmed by the fetched sources.

## Sources

[1]: https://rulebook.sama.gov.sa/en/quick-response-code-technology-qr-code "SAMA QR Code Technology Rulebook"
[2]: https://www.paymentscardsandmobile.com/saudi-arabia-monetary-authority-sama-introduces-qr-based-national-payment-system/ "SAMA introduces QR-based national payment system"
[3]: https://www.hps-worldwide.com/news-and-media/hps-introduces-qr-based-national-payment-system "HPS QR-based national payment system"
[4]: https://www.sama.gov.sa/en-US/MediaCenter/News/Pages/news24022019.aspx "SAMA Governor: we aim to promote cashless society through development of national payment systems — SAMA (24 Feb 2019)"
[5]: https://www.argaam.com/en/article/articledetail/id/606597 "Mada inks QR Code agreements with 12 entities — Argaam, 27 Apr 2019"
[6]: https://saudipedia.com/ar/بنك-stc-pay "بنك stc pay (STC Pay bank) — Saudipedia"
[7]: https://stcbank.com.sa/en/support "Support (FAQs) — STC Bank"

- [1] [Quick Response Code Technology (QR CODE) — SAMA Rulebook circular, 21 Sep 2021][1], accessed 2026-10-19
- [2] [SAMA introduces QR-based national payment system — Payments Cards & Mobile, 9 Mar 2020][2], accessed 2026-10-19
- [3] [HPS introduces QR-based national payment system — HPS, 27 Feb 2020][3], accessed 2026-10-19
- [4] [SAMA Governor: we aim to promote cashless society — SAMA news, 24 Feb 2019][4], accessed 2026-10-19
- [5] [Mada inks QR Code agreements with 12 entities — Argaam, 27 Apr 2019][5], accessed 2026-10-20
- [6] [بنك stc pay (STC Pay bank) — Saudipedia][6], accessed 2026-10-20
- [7] [Support (FAQs) — STC Bank][7], accessed 2026-10-20
- <sup>[Saudi Arabia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/SA)</sup> `reports/countries/SA-saudi-arabia.md`

## Deployments

_No country reports mention this standard by name._